Improving Girls' Education for their Empowerment in Somalia

The project aims to improve access to quality education in Somalia for marginalized adolescent girls between the ages of 10 to 19 including nomadic girls girls with disabilities and affected by conflict and violence. To encourage the enrolment and retention of girls the project works with religious leaders parents men and boys to address barriers that hamper the demand for and access to education for girls while strengthening the capacity of the government schools and teachers to provide inclusive and gender-responsive education for girls. Project activities include: (1) renovating schools to improve water and sanitation for menstrual hygiene management and the re-integration of out-of-school girls into the education system; (2) providing scholarships for the most marginalized girls to cover tuition and basic school supplies; (3) supporting girls’ empowerment forums in schools that promote girls’ rights and agency as well as boys’ forums working on positive masculinity and gender equality; (4) training teachers with a specific emphasis on female teachers ) on quality inclusive gender-sensitive curriculum delivery including improved methodologies in literacy and numeracy teaching and techniques to support crisis-affected students facing mental health issues; and (5) supporting women’s rights organizations and adolescent girls’ organizations in their advocacy for girls’ quality education.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased equitable access to safe quality inclusive education and learning for in-and-out-of-school girls aged 10 to 19 including girls with disabilities and affected by conflict/displacement; and (2) improved equitable and coordinated provisions of quality gender-responsive and evidence-based formal and non-formal education to the end of secondary school for girls including girls from rural and pastoralist communities.